Kyle Kuzma doesn't think LeBron-led Lakers need to be patient

Kyle Kuzma thinks the offseason additions the young Lakers made should have them competing this year.

By Carlan Gay

The new look Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James, have yet to play a game, but that hasn't stopped Kyle Kuzma from being excited about his team's potential.

Kuzma has worked out with James and can't wait to get on the court with his other teammates, both new and old.

"We are both definitely excited about the roster and the pieces that we have," Kuzma told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "And we think that a lot of people are underestimating us.

"It is definitely going to be fun playing with all these new guys."

The Lakers not only added James to an already talented young core - they brought in NBA Champions Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee, as well as veterans Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson. Even with all the new faces, Kuzma isn't expecting the lack of chemistry to get in the way of competing at a high level right away.

"Change can be a good thing. It is not necessarily always a bad thing," Kuzma added. "There's a lot of teams in the NBA that need to work on their chemistry; we are just one of them.

"I don't know why people kind of just rule us out because we are young, we are hungry. We are competitive. Anybody that watched us play last year, we were in a lot of games."

The Lakers played in 38 games where the point differential was five or less with three minutes to go in the game. They went 17-21 in those contests.

The Cavaliers played in 40 of those games and went 27-13 - the main difference being LeBron is still one of the league's best closers - which would lead one to believe the Lakers should play better in close games this season.

"Having one of the greatest players of all time is going to raise what we do," Kuzma added.

"Raise our level of focus and the team to a higher level. I don't really see why [there is a need to be] so patient."